The owners of this business make it wholly avoidable. Here are the highlighters (or the lowlights)…read moreand yes, there were more, but this is what I think a parent would want to know. In short, I don't want my kids around these people again and I definitely will not be taking my kids back.
I bought a Groupon in order to try it out. I called to find out if I needed to make an appointment because I wanted to come in on a weekend day. When I called, I was asked if I had a Groupon. That would have been a perfect time to tell me that with the Groupon, we were limited to painting only a cup, a bowl, or a plate, rather than any of the other numerous pottery items in the shop. I would have told my kids ahead of time and prepared them. But the owner (Valerie, I think) didn't say anything. We walked in, and my girls immediately ran over to the large selection of items. At that time, Valerie could have come up to me and said we had a limited selection on a Groupon. I would have spoken to my girls, and all would have been well. Again, she chose not to do that. Instead, she announces to my girls that they cannot choose any of the items they're looking at, that they have to choose from one of the plates, cups, or bowls along the walls. My girls, with betters manners than she apparently possesses, look confused but immediately accept her direction as the adult. I asked if I could ask why that was so, since the Groupon is for cash, and she tells me that she buys those three items in bulk and can't afford to give away the other items for half-price. (While I can accept that, I disagree with how she went about it.) Then she says in a rather unpleasant tone that "most people are more than happy" with the choices. Mind you, I was polite when I asked, and said nothing about how she had acted toward my kids because I wanted to maintain a calm, cordial atmosphere.
Next, my 3 girls are painting their items. The co-owner, a man, comes up to my oldest and comments that how she is painting her bowl is very interesting and cool. He says nothing to my other two at all, completely ignoring them. Luckily, they are very proud of each other and take the opportunity to agree that her bowl is, in fact, very interesting. But that easily could have gone the other way with their feelings being hurt because he ignored them and only focused on one. And he's supposed to be around and interacting with children daily?
Finally, it took 4 weeks to get the items. When I called the first time, Valerie asked if mine were the Groupon items and then said she didn't put those items in yet. When I called back again (the third time), she couldn't find one mug and it took a few days to locate it. Apparently, Groupon people treated are treated like second-class citizens.
I get Groupons to try new places. The way Valerie treated me with a Groupon, that alone would be enough that I wouldn't go back. But I will not take my girls back there. They behaved better than the owners and they are 8 and 10.
And when I left, the man had the never to say that I had to pay for was the "tax and gratuity."